Originally Posted by
ridelikeaturtle
The chainrings, which look to have been replaced over the years, are 49t/39t/30t.
The Miche cassette is 14t-26t.
Is this something people are doing for touring?
Thoughts?
Back in the day I used to tour on a 48-38-24 triple crank with a 11-34 cassette. The 48 front / 11 rear high gear is very fast, while the 24 front / 34 rear low gear could get me up pretty much any slope.
On your bike the smallest chainring is 30t and the largest cog is 26t. That's not very low at all, not even reaching 1:1 ratio, so it would not be suitable for climbing with a loaded touring bike.
Personally I think the previous owner simply had a drivetrain that was not very well thought out.
I stopped using triples a long time ago. These days the fastest gear on my touring bike is 36 front / 10 rear (equivalent to 40 / 11).